Core Glossary
Core Glossary
translation_memory.json is the enforced glossary for every Phase 2 translation in this curriculum. This document summarizes its shape and the principles behind it; see the Glossary Risk Groups for the full per-term entries.
Composition
The glossary currently holds 47 terms spanning all four risk tiers, drawn from the doctrines identified in Doctrine Analysis and grounded in the cultural risks identified in Culture Analysis. Every term entry records:
- The approved Tamil translation and transliteration
- The doctrine risk tier (Critical/High/Medium/Low)
- Explicitly rejected alternatives, with reasons
- Notes explaining any non-obvious translation choice
Governing principles
- Established usage over invention, except where established usage is itself doctrinally imprecise — where Tamil Bible tradition already has a settled, safe rendering (இயேசு, கர்த்தர், கிறிஸ்து, பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவர்), this glossary follows it. The deliberate exception is “God” itself: rather than retain தேவன் (the historically dominant Tamil Bible term, but literally “a deva”), this glossary corrects it to கடவுள்.
- Distinguish disambiguation from correction — most of this pipeline’s risky-but-established terms (like Punjabi’s ਮੁਕਤੀ) are managed with a mandatory clarifying gloss. Tamil’s God-word decision is different in kind: because தேவன்’s ordinary meaning is itself the problem, not just a source of possible confusion, this glossary replaces the term outright rather than glossing it.
- Explicit rejection, not silent avoidance — every Critical-risk term records why the tempting alternative is wrong, so a translator or reviewer understands the reasoning rather than just following a rule.
- Version-controlled and append-only in Phase 2 — if a new term is discovered during document translation, it is added to translation memory and the version number incremented, never silently improvised per-document.
Relationship to the Doctrine Risk Registry
Every glossary term’s doctrine field links back to an entry in doctrine_risk_registry.json, so a term’s risk tier is always traceable to the specific doctrine it protects — the glossary enforces vocabulary, the doctrine registry explains why that vocabulary matters.
Critical Risk Terms
Father
Approved rendering: பிதா
Transliteration: pitha
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
God as personal Father in formal address; established, unambiguous term.
God
Approved rendering: கடவுள்
Transliteration: kadavul
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: தேவன், பரமேஸ்வரன், பகவான்
CRITICAL, DISTINCT STRATEGY FROM OTHER LANGUAGES IN THIS PIPELINE: established Tamil Bible tradition (the Tamil Old Version and many hymns) actually uses தேவன் for “God” throughout, e.g. John 3:16. But தேவன் literally denotes “a deva” — one deity among the many devas of the Hindu pantheon — risking a henotheistic or polytheistic reading of the one true God as merely one deva among others. Rather than retain தேவன் with a mandatory gloss (the strategy this pipeline’s Punjabi Language Package uses for a comparably entrenched term), this Language Package deliberately breaks from that translation precedent and uses கடவுள் instead, a term whose folk etymology (“the one beyond time/reach,” from கடத்தல்) carries no pantheon-membership implication and is unambiguously monotheistic. NEVER பரமேஸ்வரன் (an epithet of Shiva) or பகவான் (generic Hindu devotional “Lord”).
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவர்
Transliteration: Parisutha Aaviyanavar
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: பிரம்மம், பரமாத்மா
CRITICAL: never பிரம்மம் (Tamil transliteration of the Hindu Brahman) or பரமாத்மா (the universal Self). பரிசுத்த ஆவியானவர் is the personal Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: கணக்கிடப்பட்ட நீதி
Transliteration: kanakkidapatta neethi
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: சம்பாதித்த நீதி
Righteousness credited to the believer by God, NOT earned righteousness (சம்பாதித்த நீதி, explicitly rejected).
Incarnation
Approved rendering: தேகதாரணம்
Transliteration: dehadharanam
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: அவதாரம்
CRITICAL: NEVER use அவதாரம். Tamil Vaishnavism’s devotion to Vishnu’s ten avatars (dasavatara) is one of the most intensely developed avatar theologies in all of India, making this word an unusually strong pull for Tamil readers specifically. தேகதாரணம் conveys the eternal Son permanently and uniquely assuming human nature, once, not a repeatable divine descent.
Jesus
Approved rendering: இயேசு
Transliteration: yesu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
CRITICAL: established Tamil Christian standard form since the earliest Tamil Bible translation work.
Justification
Approved rendering: நீதிமானாக்கப்படுதல்
Transliteration: neethimanaakkappaduthal
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: மன்னிப்பு பெறுதல்
Compound required for the forensic, declared-righteous sense; never abbreviate to மன்னிப்பு (forgiveness) alone, which loses the legal-declaration dimension.
Lord
Approved rendering: கர்த்தர்
Transliteration: karthar
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: எஜமான்
Established Tamil Bible term since Ziegenbalg’s earliest translation. Romans 10:9’s confession “Jesus is Lord” = இயேசு கர்த்தர் என்று. Must convey exclusive, supreme Lordship, not merely a household master (எஜமான்).
Messiah
Approved rendering: மேசியா
Transliteration: mesiya
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Transliterated term used alongside கிறிஸ்து (Christ). The Anointed One fulfilling Old Testament promise, not one of many divine or avatar figures.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: உயிர்த்தெழுதல்
Transliteration: uyirthezhuthal
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: மறுபிறவி
CRITICAL: NEVER use மறுபிறவி (rebirth/reincarnation), a concept shared by both Tamil Hindu tradition and Tamil Nadu’s historically significant Jain communities, whose classical-era influence on Tamil literature and religious vocabulary runs deep. உயிர்த்தெழுதல் is bodily, historical, once-for-all resurrection, ending the cycle rather than continuing it.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: நீதி
Transliteration: neethi
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: தர்மம், புண்ணியம்
CRITICAL: NEVER use தர்மம் (the Tamil cognate of Sanskrit dharma, carrying the same cosmic-duty connotation). நீதி is right standing before God received through faith, not a duty performed.
Salvation
Approved rendering: இரட்சிப்பு
Transliteration: iratchippu
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: மோட்சம், முக்தி
CRITICAL: NEVER use மோட்சம் or முக்தி — Hindu liberation from the rebirth cycle. இரட்சிப்பு (rescue/deliverance) is the established Tamil Christian term, distinguishing deliverance by a personal God through Christ from release from an impersonal cosmic cycle.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: தேவனுடைய குமாரன்
Transliteration: Devanudaiya Kumaran
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: தெய்வப்புத்திரன்
CRITICAL: full phrase required. தெய்வப்புத்திரன் (“son of a deity”) wrongly places Christ within a Hindu pantheon of divine or semi-divine figures rather than as the eternal, unique Son within the Godhead.
High Risk Terms
Adoption
Approved rendering: புத்திரசுவிகாரம்
Transliteration: puthira-suvikaram
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: தத்தெடுப்பு
Established theological compound emphasizing full son-status with complete inheritance rights, more precise than the generic தத்தெடுப்பு (the ordinary word for adopting a child).
Called
Approved rendering: அழைக்கப்பட்ட
Transliteration: azhaikkappatta
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: அழைப்பு பெற்ற
Context-sensitive: Romans 1:1 = called to apostleship; 1:7 = called to be saints; 8:28-30 = effectual calling to salvation.
Calling
Approved rendering: அழைப்பு
Transliteration: azhaippu
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Noun form for the act or state of being called by God.
Covenant
Approved rendering: உடன்படிக்கை
Transliteration: udanpadikkai
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: ஒப்பந்தம்
Relational covenant bond, more than a legal agreement (ஒப்பந்தம்). Established Tamil Bible usage.
Election
Approved rendering: தெரிந்துகொள்ளுதல்
Transliteration: therinthu-kolluthal
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: தலைவிதி, ஊழ்வினை
God’s sovereign, personal choice; never தலைவிதி (“forehead-writing,” a common Tamil fatalism idiom) or ஊழ்வினை (accumulated karmic destiny).
Faith
Approved rendering: விசுவாசம்
Transliteration: vishvasam
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: பக்தி
Personal trust in Christ specifically. பக்தி (bhakti, devotional reverence) is an extremely well-developed category in both Tamil Shaiva and Vaishnava traditions (the Nayanmars and Alvars produced some of India’s richest devotional poetry) and must not substitute for the specific, exclusive trust Romans describes.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: புறஜாதியார்
Transliteration: purajathiyar
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Established Tamil Bible term for non-Jewish peoples. NOTE: ஜாதி is also Tamil’s ordinary word for “caste,” and caste is an unusually prominent and politically charged category in Tamil Nadu given the 20th-century Dravidian and Self-Respect anti-caste political movements; translators and reviewers should be alert that this compound reads adjacent to caste vocabulary even though its doctrinal meaning here is “nations/peoples,” not caste.
Glory
Approved rendering: மகிமை
Transliteration: magimai
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
God’s radiant honor and presence; established, low-ambiguity term.
Gospel
Approved rendering: சுவிசேஷம்
Transliteration: suvisesham
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: நல்ல செய்தி
Established Tamil Christian term, dating to the earliest Tamil Bible translation work (Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg, 1714) and Tamil Catholic tradition before it. Distinguish from a generic positive announcement.
Grace
Approved rendering: கிருபை
Transliteration: kirupai
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: புண்ணியம், ஊழ்வினை பலன்
Unmerited favor apart from human merit. Tamil Sri Vaishnavism has an unusually developed scholastic debate on the nature of divine grace (prapatti) between the Tenkalai school (grace as wholly unconditioned, illustrated by the image of a kitten carried by its mother cat) and the Vadakalai school (grace requiring some cooperative effort, illustrated by a baby monkey clinging to its mother). This is a genuine, sophisticated point of comparison, not merely a contradiction — but Christian கிருபை must still be taught as coming through faith in Christ’s finished work, not through ritual surrender (prapatti) to a deity as the Vaishnava traditions frame it. NEVER புண்ணியம் (accumulated religious merit) or ஊழ்வினை பலன் (the fruit of karmic action).
Holy
Approved rendering: பரிசுத்தம்
Transliteration: parisutham
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: சுத்தம்
Set apart for God and morally pure. சுத்தம் carries ritual/physical-cleanliness connotations; பரிசுத்தம் is the established Bible-translation term.
Law
Approved rendering: நியாயப்பிரமாணம்
Transliteration: niyayapramanam
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: தர்மம்
The Mosaic law; established Tamil Bible term. NEVER தர்மம்.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: விசுவாசக்கீழ்ப்படிதல்
Transliteration: vishvasa-kilppadithal
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: மார்க்கக் கடமை
Romans 1:5 and 16:26. Obedience flowing from faith, not generic religious-path duty (மார்க்கக் கடமை).
Power Of God
Approved rendering: தேவனுடைய வல்லமை
Transliteration: Devanudaiya Vallamai
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: சக்தி
NEVER சக்தி. Tamil Nadu has an unusually vivid, grassroots-level living goddess tradition centered on village Amman deities (Mariamman, Angalamman, and others), often considered older than and distinct from pan-Indian Sanskritic Shaktism. வல்லமை (might/ability) avoids this association entirely.
Providence
Approved rendering: தேவனுடைய பராமரிப்பு
Transliteration: Devanudaiya Paramarippu
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: ஊழ்
God’s personal, purposive governance; never ஊழ் (the classical Tamil literary concept of fate, notably discussed as one of the major forces of life in Thirukkural).
Saints
Approved rendering: பரிசுத்தவான்கள்
Transliteration: parisuthavankal
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: சாமியார், சித்தர்
NEVER சாமியார் (a Hindu ascetic/holy-man title) or சித்தர் — the Tamil Siddhar tradition (Agastya, Bogar, Thirumular, and others) is a distinctly Tamil category of adept-mystics credited with yogic and alchemical powers, a specifically Dravidian-Tamil religious phenomenon rather than a generic pan-Indian one. பரிசுத்தவான்கள் applies to every ordinary believer, not a class of spiritually attained masters.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: பரிசுத்தமாக்குதல்
Transliteration: parisuthamaakkuthal
Doctrine: Sanctification
The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy; established, low-ambiguity Tamil Bible term.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: தாவீதின் வம்சம்
Transliteration: thaaveethin vamsam
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Romans 1:3; conveys physical lineage and fulfillment of the Old Testament covenant promise to David.
Sin
Approved rendering: பாவம்
Transliteration: paavam
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: தீவினை
Moral transgression before a personal God, distinct from தீவினை (bad karmic action, a category from the impersonal karma-accounting framework shared by Tamil Hindu and Jain thought).
Medium Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: அப்போஸ்தலன்
Transliteration: appostalan
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: குரு
A Greek-derived transliteration, established since the earliest Tamil Bible translation work. Tamil Nadu has its own ancient apostolic-heritage claim: tradition holds that the apostle Thomas was martyred at Mylapore (present-day Chennai), where the San Thome Cathedral Basilica now stands as one of only three churches in the world built over an apostle’s tomb. NEVER குரு (guru), which flattens apostolic authority into a generic spiritual-teacher role.
Church
Approved rendering: சபை
Transliteration: sabai
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: கோவில்
சபை (assembly/congregation) is the established term for the doctrinal Church, distinct from ஆலயம் (the physical church building) and never கோவில் (Hindu temple).
David
Approved rendering: தாவீது
Transliteration: thaaveethu
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Established Tamil Bible proper-name form.
Intercession
Approved rendering: பரிந்துபேசுதல்
Transliteration: parinthu-pesuthal
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Prayer on behalf of others before God.
Israel
Approved rendering: இஸ்ரவேல்
Transliteration: israel
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Established proper-name form.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: தேவனுடைய ராஜ்யம்
Transliteration: Devanudaiya Rajyam
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
God’s sovereign reign, not a territorial or political kingdom.
Mission
Approved rendering: சுவிசேஷ ஊழியம்
Transliteration: suvisesha oozhiyam
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Proclamation of the gospel; ஊழியம் here means “service/ministry” and should not be confused with the unrelated-sounding but doctrinally distinct ஊழ் (fate) rejected under Providence.
Peace
Approved rendering: சமாதானம்
Transliteration: samadhanam
Doctrine: Peace with God
In Romans 5:1, relational peace with God through justification, not merely psychological calm.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: ஆவிக்குரிய வரங்கள்
Transliteration: aavikkuriya varangal
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Rejected alternatives: வரம்
வரம் alone means “boon,” familiar from Tamil devotional and folk-narrative tradition of a deity granting a boon. Always pair with ஆவிக்குரிய (Spirit-given).
Low Risk Terms
Abba
Approved rendering: அப்பா
Transliteration: appa
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
OPPORTUNITY, DISTINCT FROM EVERY OTHER LANGUAGE IN THIS PIPELINE: unlike Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali, or Malayalam, where Abba requires an explanatory note as a foreign term, Aramaic “Abba” and Tamil “அப்பா” (Appa) are both phonetically near-identical and functionally identical — Appa is the ordinary, universal Tamil word every Tamil speaker of any religion uses for “father.” Romans 8:15 therefore lands with immediate, unmediated warmth in Tamil with no cultural translation required at all.
Exhort
Approved rendering: உற்சாகப்படுத்துதல்
Transliteration: utchagappaduthuthal
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Context-sensitive: வேண்டுகோள் (entreaty) for beseeching; உற்சாகப்படுத்துதல் (encourage) for building up.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: ஐக்கியம்
Transliteration: aikkiyam
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: நட்பு
Shared participation in Christ. நட்பு (friendship) is too casual/social for the doctrinal sense.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: தீர்க்கதரிசனம்
Transliteration: theerkkadharisanam
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
God-inspired declaration, distinct from astrological prediction.
Prophet
Approved rendering: தீர்க்கதரிசி
Transliteration: theerkkadharisi
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: ஜோசியன்
God’s spokesperson; established term. Do not confuse with ஜோசியன் (astrologer/fortune-teller).
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: ஸ்தோத்திரம்
Transliteration: sthothiram
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Established, warm devotional term in everyday Tamil Christian usage (e.g. the common expression “ஸ்தோத்திரம் ஆண்டவரே”). No significant doctrinal risk.
Referenced passages